1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a locking mechanism. More specifically, the present invention relates to a locking mechanism for securing lighting components, such as light-emitting diodes (LED) or light engine, without necessarily using screws or other fasteners, and a method of using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Lighting fixtures have many components and parts, in addition to the lamp or lighting module. This may include, for example, a housing, a ballast, a reflector, or a heat sink for light-emitting diodes (LED) or other light engine. Lighting fixtures may vary greatly in size and complexity, depending on various factors such as aesthetics, desired illumination levels, or space constraints. As such, the lighting components will also vary in size as well as in the quantity of the required components.
Lighting fixtures are typically assembled in a factory or warehouse, often manually by a laborer. The various components of a lighting fixture are often attached to each other through the use of fasteners, such as screws or bolts. Depending on the size of the lighting fixture and lighting components, the fasteners could be small in size while numerous in quantity. As such, assembly of the lighting components in a factory or warehouse can be extremely labor intensive and time consuming, which increases manufacturing costs, and ultimately the cost of the final product.
For example, in a light fixture utilizing an LED module or light engine, due to the high electricity draw of LEDs/light engines, the LED or light engine module is typically mounted to a heat sink to draw the heat away from the LED or light engine. One way this is currently done is by mounting a heat sink to one side of a base using several screws, and mounting the LED or light engine module to the other side of the base. Because the base acts as a conductor to transfer heat from the LED or light engine module to the heat sink, there must be solid contact between the surfaces of the LED light engine module and the base, making it necessary to tightly secure the LED or light engine module to the base. This is typically done through the use of a collar that holds the LED or light engine module to the base. The collar is secured to the base by several screws. The screws, typically small mounting screws, for mounting both the collar and the heat sink are quite small. Therefore, a lot of time and labor are expended to assemble the light fixtures.
In addition, after the lighting fixture has been assembled and installed in the field, it will eventually require maintenance of some sort, such as the replacement of a bulb or another faulty component. Using the example of the LED or light engine light fixture discussed above, this will require unscrewing the collar to access the LED or light engine module. As with the assembly stage, this can be a labor intensive process. Because the lighting fixture is already installed in either a wall or a ceiling, it can be painstaking procedure to remove each screw attaching the collar to the base in order to access the LED or light engine module, thereby increasing maintenance costs. In addition, because the screws are very small, at least one screw could easily be lost, thereby negatively affecting the collar's hold of the LED or light engine module against the base after the faulty component is replaced and the fixture is reassembled. This in turn will decrease the contact between the LED or light engine module and the base, and therefore reduce the efficiency of the LED or light engine.
Therefore, a need exists for a locking mechanism for securing various lighting components to each other, in particular LED or light engine modules to a heat sink, and a method of using the same, in an efficient, cost-saving yet effective manner.